Well this isn’t bad. I think. I take a day off to catch my breath and I come back to eleven cards instead of the horrible thirteen last time I took a break. Before we get started, I will say straight up that there are a couple of really exciting ones in this group, as well as the first card that I’ve read and just groaned. Let’s take a look!

First on my list is a card that I’ve already heard is going to see some Standard play, and to be honest, I can’t say I agree with them. Let’s look at the new big bad Vampire on the block:


I’ve got a couple of problems with this guy. First of all, he’s not efficient. He costs five, which is more than the Nocturnus, the supposed top end of the deck. Secondly he’s Legendary, which means he’s just not going to be played as a four of, as I don’t think he’s powerful enough that drawing two at any point is a sacrifice you’ll make because he’s just that good.

Don’t get me wrong, I like the card, it’s a nice ability, the art is great, but Vampires is just a full out aggro deck right now, and as long as that’s the case, poor Anowon is just not going to make the cut. Keep an eye out for him in Limited though, as he will certainly be a monster there!


While I’m on the topic of the Vampires deck, I’m going to take a look at their other new toy:


Now this I’m actually more excited about. If you’ve looked back at some of the recently printed sets, you can see cards like Last Gasp and Nameless Inversion, both of which have been largely successful. This card is no different. While it may not see quite as much play as the two I just mentioned, it’s only because it had the misfortune to be put in a set with Smother, and let's face it, Smother is really solid for any deck. Urge to Feed is a good card for Vampires, but it doesn't have much for any other deck, and you can’t really blame it for that.

So now I’m going to take another look at a cycle that I’ve had mixed opinions on, the Zendikons. Here is the latest addition to the group:
Now, when I read this card, I read it once, read it again, and read it a third time, and still didn’t manage to form a solid first impression. All I can think of is this - Crusher Zendikon is better than the Green one, but I don’t like it as much as the Blue one. I think that the fact that it has trample redeems it a little bit in my eyes, but I’m still not as excited as I was hoping I would be. To be honest, I just wish it had First Strike instead of Trample.

Now when I read this card, I nearly broke down laughing:

Platinum Angel in reverse? Now that’s amusing! Ever since I played a 10th Edition Sealed tournament in which I opened three pain lands, a Denizen of the Deep and a Platinum Angel, I’ve had fun trying to make that ability work as a deck. It was successful in the Iron Maiden decklist of the Time Spiral – Lorwyn Standard, and has made occasional appearances since then.

Abyssal Persecutor however, seems like it's a mite more powerful than Platinum Angel. It’s mean, it’s aggressive, it wants to kill people. To me it feels a lot like Juzam Djinn or Plague Sliver of the old days. You sort of just toss it out, and hope the drawback doesn’t come back to kick you in the ass. As long as you have something like Day of Judgment, Fleshbag Mauraders or Bone Splinters this guy should just be an amazing Black aggressive four-drop. The biggest drawback I can think of is that it doesn’t kill Baneslayer Angel... but that's why you play Terminate, right?

Now onto a card that I feel is almost completely irrelevant in the current Standard environment, or, well, any environment:


Aside from having really cool art, I have absolutely no interest in this card. The only time I think it’s going to be useful is in Legacy against Wasteland, and to be honest the good land denial deck there is Stax (which doesn't have to destroy your lands to lock you out). Sure, someone is going to tell me I’m wrong because it combos with the Zendikons and man-lands. To all you out there defending this card: stop it. The Zendikon thing is a cute little trick and nothing more than that. Unless the White Zendikon is godly, I’m going to write this off as nothing more than a card that I will open far too many of and be sad about.

Now for something far cooler:


Whaaaat? Where did that come from? This card tells us a couple of interesting things about Worldwake: First of all, there are going to be multicolored spells in Worldwaket. Secondly, they are going to be GOOD multicolored spells. Unless there is a GW Mana Ramp deck in Standard, he’s probably not going to see any play there, but I am going to be incredibly happy to see this guy in Limited, especially as it seems that the format is going to be slowing down with Worldwake's release.

Next up on the list is the latest addition to the Ally tribe:


While this Ally may mean that the White Weenie Ally deck may be feasible, it still feels mediocre to me. I guess it will grow really fast if you have a nicely tuned Draft deck, but I just can’t really get excited about it.

I can, however, get excited about this little gem:

Here is the 13/13 that we’ve seen speculated about after the Orb of Insight revealed that a 13/13 creature was somewhere in the set. I’ve talked a little bit about the Black Red Blightning deck that I’ve been playing in Standard, and I am excited to pack this in the sideboard against the other Aggro decks. Combine their damage with damage from my own Vampire Lacerators, and I could bring out a large Death's Shadow just to finish them off when they think they've got the game handled.

Another new black one drop that we’ve seen is another Vampire addition:


I like this card in a way, but I’m worried that it just doesn't cut the mustard in Zendikar. There are already a lot of solid one drops in this set, and this just isn’t going to be as good as them. It feels a lot like Piranha Marsh. In theory, it’s solid, but realistically it’s just not going to make the cut.

Last on my list is probably the first card of Worldwake that I am actually completely disappointed in.

Crunched out of the Orb of Insight, we have revealed that Twitch will be back in the new set. I don’t like Twitch. I didn’t like it in Tenth Edition, and I don’t think I’ll like it now. It was good back in the Academy deck, but it hasn't found a deck that loved it ever since. I’m just going to say that I’m not impressed.

Getting close, only one more card to cover - take a look at this interesting riff on Exploration from Urza's Saga.


This card was a pleasant little surprise for me. We’ve seen a bunch of variations in the past, to varying degrees of success, Oracle of Mul Daya being the most recent foray into extra lands per turn. This is a nice card for Limited, and could see play in Constructed, but it won’t overpower the format with obscene Landfall decks. I’m looking forward to seeing if I can fit this nicely into my Draft decks without having to scramble to pick it up early.

And that's it! Some great cards that I'm really excited about, and the first cards that I'm really not excited to see again. I'm sure you'll be hearing from me again before too long! Until then, keep it locked on Eye of the Vortex for all your spoiler analysis and commentary!